Ritual in Secular Society

I believe that what was more important than race in this inauguration was a return to the values that defined the modern Democratic Party. The same way someone feels truly cleansed of sin after a full immersion baptism, I feel Democrats needed to be a part of this ceremony: to be present there, to feel brought in again, to be a part of a country that many of us felt disconnected from for eight long years.

It’s truly a new day, as they say. I recently returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., for the Inauguration of now President Barack Obama. A trip deemed so important that it did not escape the attention of the local news here in St. Louis. (You can check out the coverage here, I especially like the comments about us after the story). According to the news reports, we were joined by 2 million of our closest friends for the event. There were so many people in what is a surprisingly small city, that there was a point where my friends and I were literally stuck in a metro station, with hundreds, perhaps thousands of other people, for close to an hour.

And throughout all of these travel nightmares, including my late nights, sleeping in a friend’s kitchen on an air mattress, lead me to wonder, “What is it about this ceremony that drove so many people to Washington to witness this moment in history?” Certainly I will concede that there was historic significance to the occasion, and that it is rare that one is able to spot history coming, and to plan a trip to be a part of it. But I think there is more to it than just the fact that Barack Obama is our first African American president. It was the ritual of the occasion that was impressed upon me; after all, the Ceremony consisted mostly of a couple million people watching the procession of a of DC insiders on jumbo-trons, as they took the stage, which struck me as an interesting juxtaposition. Millions of people crowding on the Mall, hoping to stay warm enough and have room enough to comfortably watch the ceremony on a screen. An experience they could have had in the comfort of their own homes, perhaps with a warm cup of hot cocoa. What drove all these people to be present for the ceremony itself?

I grew up going to events like this. My father is a bit of a local celebrity in Missouri and St. Louis political circles.  They call him “Butt-n-Bob” Levine, and he got his start in politics at 13, selling buttons for Johnson in 1964. He has been selling buttons ever since. When we were kids, we would go to political events and ceremonies and help him sell buttons. What was interesting to me was that at all the other ceremonies I’ve been to like this one, they were always filled with familiar faces. “The People,” as it were, would certainly come to the rallies, but the ceremonies were for the insiders, the people on stage, people that bleed and sweat for the candidate. This time, rather than a handful of familiar faces, there were 2 million people filling the entirety of the Mall.

I think the country needed this moment, this ritual, and while I am sure that the historic nature played a part in the record attendance, I think it was the need to see the “peaceful transition of power” that was at the heart of the pilgrimage for most people. To be a part of this moment is historic, not only because of the race of our new president, but because it marks a changing tide in the political make up of the country. It is a change from Neo-Conservative foreign policy, to one of diplomacy, a change from compartmentalizing science to an embracing of scientific advancement, from (at least as perceived by those of us on the left) the practice of disenfranchisement of liberals, progressives and minorities to one of a pluralistic society.

Throughout the campaign, Barack Obama was regularly compared to John F. Kennedy, a parallel that, until the inauguration, I never fully comprehended. Then again, I sold buttons at the 2000 Democratic National Convention that compared Al Gore to JFK (both Conventions took place in Los Angeles) and also in 2004, comparing John Kerry to JFK (same initials, Massachusetts Senator, etc, etc). But it’s not where they accepted the nomination, not their initials, and certainly not their “Soaring Speeches” that these three candidates have in common with Kennedy, it’s what they represent. Kennedy was young and a new voice of a new liberalism, a new Democratic party, a party that was willing to choose morals and principle over votes. The story goes, when Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Amendment in 1964, he was reported to have said, “We have lost the South for a Generation.” This of course proved true, until the moment Barack Obama won Virginia. I believe that what was more important than race in this inauguration was a return to the values that defined the modern Democratic Party. The same way someone feels truly cleansed of sin after a full immersion baptism, I feel Democrats needed to be a part of this ceremony: to be present there, to feel brought in again, to be a part of a country that many of us felt disconnected from for eight long years.

Certainly this must be doubly true for African Americans who, in many ways, have never really been brought into the equation the way that Caucasian Americans have. But as a white male, I don’t feel I am the best person to comment on that topic, so I welcome feedback from African Americans about what the ritual meant to them, the emotions they experienced as President Obama took the Oath, and what it means for them in the future.

Barack Obama has regularly been compared to as some sort of liberal savior by his critics, not for anything he has said or done, but due to the effect he has on his followers. Many people say that we will all be disappointed within 9 months of his taking office; he is, after all, a pragmatist. Soon his liberal supporters will fall away as will the folks in the center who want change now. I was among those who were concerned about this, but after the inauguration, I am not so sure. Certainly these possibilities are still possible, but I think there will be change, even if that change is only in rhetoric. This is the change that America wants, that we need, so much so that millions of people will flock to our nation’s capitol to take part in a ritual to cleanse of our center right nature, and bring in a new era of center left politics and policy.

We at Faithful Democrats are working on a series to come about Prophets, and leadership in times of change. But all of this is surrounded by ritual. Ritual is important in many parts of our daily lives, not just our religious lives, and I think, this inauguration has proved, our political experience as well.